This article will teach you how to create custom headers and footers in Microsoft Word. You can start with a ready-made template or create your logo right away - and include text, page numbers, images and more special formatting. Come on?
Steps
Method 1 of 2: Creating the Header or Footer
Step 1. Access the Insert tab
It sits at the top of the Word window.
If you've already inserted a header or footer, but want to edit the formatting, double-click on the space
Step 2. Click Header or Baseboard.
Both options are in the "Header and Footer" panel at the top of Word and open a new menu.
- The menus come with a few different styles of headers and footers that you can base your custom version on. If you want to start with one of them, select it and double-click on the Word page.
- You can also click on More Office.com Headers and search the internet for other options.
Step 3. Click Edit Header or Edit Footer.
Depending on which option you select, you will see a link at the bottom of the menu. Click on it to access the Design tab on a specific toolbar for creating custom headers and footers.
Word will open the Design (Windows) or Header & Footer (Mac) tab automatically every time you double-click a header or footer
Step 4. Click Page Number to add numbers to the document
Choose the style and location of the number from the menu.
Click the Format Page Numbers… menu to choose a different format, such as Roman numerals. You can also enter other numbering elements such as chapters and sections
Step 5. Add text to the header or footer
If you want to include some specific text in the header or footer, such as your name, just type it in that part of the page. If you're using one of the ready-made Word templates, click on it to replace the sample text with your own.
Step 6. Enter other details in the header or footer
The "Insert" panel, on the Design tab (or Header and Footer), has several interesting resource options for the header or footer:
- Date and time: Use to select a date and time format for the header or footer.
- Document Information: Use to include certain information about the document in the header or footer, such as the title, author's name, or file location.
- Quick Parts: Use the Quick Parts feature to insert reusable text and properties anywhere in the document, including header and footer.
- Images or Images Online: Use one of these options to insert images in the header or footer. Try choosing small files like logos or horizontal bars.
Step 7. Click Close Header and Footer
The option is represented by a white "X" on a red background and is on the right side of the Design tab. Click it to close the header and footer editor and see how the document currently looks.
If you added a header and want to make it a footer (or vice versa), go back to the Insert tab and click Header or Footer
Method 2 of 2: Creating a Header or Footer After the First Page of the Document
Step 1. Double click on the header or footer
Use this method if you want the header or footer you created to appear on a specific page after the first one. Start by double-clicking on the header or footer on the home page.
Step 2. Check the field next to "First Page Different"
The option is in the Options panel of the Design tab (Windows) or Header & Footer (Mac), which opens automatically. Click to remove the header or footer from the first page - and thus make the second page the "new start".
- If you want to customize the header or footer even more, check the field next to Different Between Even and Odd Pages. For example: you can put the title of the document on the odd pages and the page numbers on the even ones.
- The option Show Document Text displays header or footer text even when the cursor is not on that part of the page.
Step 3. Click Close Header and Footer
The option is represented by a white "X" on a red background and is on the right side of the Design tab. Click to save changes.